North Plains, Ore. – Jennie Lee, 19, of Huntington Beach, Calif., became
the lone USA Curtis Cup player remaining in the U.S. Women’s Amateur
Championship when she defeated Sydnee Michaels, 18, of Temecula, Calif., at
the 6,380-yard, par 71 Witch Hollow Course of Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club.
Lee won, 2 and 1, advancing to Friday’s quarterfinal round of match
play. Her Curtis Cup teammate, Paige Mackenzie went to the sidelines after
a 4-and-3 loss to Lee in the morning’s second round.
“There’s a little bit of sadness,” said Mackenzie, the qualifying
medalist who was playing in her last amateur tournament before turning professional. “At
the same time, I made a good showing. I’d like to look forward
to the future.”
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| After knocking off Paige Mackenzie and Sydnee Michaels Thursday, Jennie
Lee earned a ticket to the quarterfinal round Friday. (Steve Gibbons/USGA) |
Lee was never down in her match with Michaels. She won the second hole with
a par and after an exchange of holes was still 1 up going into the 17th. Lee’s
par on the 419-yard par 4 ended the match.
“My dad told me, ‘You need to be up on the first nine, that’s
the most important thing because it gives you so many options,’” Lee
said. “So, that was the advantage for me.”
Katharina Schallenberg, 26, of Germany, also advanced to the quarterfinal
after defeating Esther Choe, 17, of Scottsdale, Ariz., 2 up. Choe was one hole
down going into the 18th. Preparing to play her fifth shot, Choe inadvertently
replaced a divot, improving her stance, which is against the Rules of Golf.
She suffered loss of hole and the match was over.
Several of the younger players in the field advanced. Lindy Duncan, 15, of
Plantation, Fla., defeated Hana Jang, 14, of Korea, 6 and 5. Jang suffered
severe nose bleeds and play was stopped on the 11th hole and on the 13th hole,
where paramedics were called in. Duncan won the match on the 13th.
“I hoped Hana would finish the match,” said Duncan. “She
played really well and she’s a really scrappy player.”
Duncan and Kimberly Kim, 14, of Pahoa, Hawaii, are the youngest players still
in the field. Kim, runner-up in the 2006 U.S. Women’s Amateur Public
Links Championship, defeated Alison Whitaker, 20, of Australia, 3 and 2. It
was a significant victory for the 14-year-old Kim. Whitaker was a semifinalist
in the Women’s Amateur last year.
“It feels like an honor,” said Kim. “First, I just
wanted to make the cut to make my family happy.”
In other third-round action, Ayaka Kaneko, 16, of Honolulu, Hawaii, defeated
Jennifer Osborn, 19, of Huntington Beach, Calif., 2 and 1. Stacy Lewis, 21,
of The Woodlands, Texas, defeated Maria Jose Uribe, 16, of Columbia, 2 up.
Spain’s representative, Carlotta Ciganda, 16, was defeated by Jennie
Arseneault, 18, of Grinnell, Iowa, 2 up, and Eileen Vargas, 21, of Columbia,
edged four-time California Women’s Amateur Champion, Mina Harigae, 16,
of Monterey, Calif., 1 up.
In Friday’s quarterfinal matches, Lee faces Schallenberg, Kaneko takes
on Lewis, Arseneault plays Duncan and Vargas will play against Kim.
The Women’s Amateur is one of 13 national championships conducted by
the United States Golf Association. Ten are strictly for amateurs.
Story written by Rhonda Glenn, Manager of USGA Communications. E-mail her
with questions or comments at rglenn@usga.org.
Results
North Plains, Ore. – Results from the second and third rounds of match
play Thursday in the United States Women’s Amateur Championship at the
6,380-yard, par-71 Witch Hollow Course of Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club.
Round of 32
Upper Bracket
Jennie Lee, Huntington Beach, Calif. (147) def. Paige Mackenzie, Yakima, Wash.
(139), 4 and 3
Sydnee Michaels, Temecula, Calif. (149) def. Alison Walshe, Westford, Mass.
(145), 2 up
Katharina Schallenberg, Germany (143) def. Seo-Jae Lee, Korea (146), 3 and
2
Esther Choe, Scottsdale, Ariz. (148) def. Cydney Clanton, Concord, N.C. (150),
1 up
Ayaka Kaneko, Honolulu, Hawaii (142) def. Pei-Lin Yu, Chinese Taipei (146),
2 up
Jennifer Osborn, Huntington Beach, Calif. (146) def. Kristen Svicarovich,
Hillsboro, Ore. (149), 4 and 2
Maria Jose Uribe, Colombia (147) def. Mi Jung Hur, Korea (142), 4 and 3
Stacy Lewis, The Woodlands, Texas (148) def. Candace Schepperle, Birmingham,
Ala. (145), 3 and 1
Lower Bracket
Jennie Arseneault, Grinnell, Iowa (147) def. Tiffany Joh, San Diego, Calif.
(141), 19 holes
Carlota Ciganda, Spain (145) def. Mari Chun, Pearl City, Hawaii (149), 4 and
2
Hana Jang, Korea (146) def. Ashley Knoll, The Woodlands, Texas (143), 2 up
Lindy Duncan, Plantation, Fla. (144) def. Stacey Kim, Columbus, Ga. (148),
2 up
Eileen Vargas, Colombia (147) def. In Kyung Kim, Korea (141), 3 and 2
Mina Harigae, Monterey, Calif. (149) def. Martina Gillen, Ireland (145), 1
up
Kimberly Kim, Hilo, Hawaii (146) def. Lauren Espinosa, Hickory Creek, Texas
(150), 1 up
Alison Whitaker, Australia (144) def. Margaret Shirley, Roswell, Ga. (148),
20 holes
Round of 16
Upper Bracket
Lee def. Michaels, 2 and 1
Schallenberg def. Choe, 2 up
Kaneko def. Osborn, 2 and 1
Lewis def. Uribe, 2 up
Lower Bracket
Arseneault def. Ciganda, 2 up
Duncan def. Jang, 6 and 5
Vargas def. Harigae, 1 up
Kim def. Whitaker, 3 and 2
Pairings
North Plains, Ore. – Pairings for the quarterfinal round of match play
Friday in the United States Women’s Amateur Championship at the 6,380-yard,
par-71 Witch Hollow Course of Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club.
Round of 8
Upper Bracket
2 p.m. Jennie
Lee, Huntington Beach, Calif. (147) vs. Katharina Schallenberg, Germany (143)
2:10 p.m. Ayaka
Kaneko, Honolulu, Hawaii (142) vs. Stacy Lewis, The Woodlands, Texas (148)
Lower Bracket
2:20 p.m. Jennie
Arseneault, Grinnell, Iowa (147) vs. Lindy Duncan, Plantation, Fla. (144)
2:30 p.m. Eileen
Vargas, Colombia (147) vs. Kimberly Kim, Hilo, Hawaii (146)